Ryan Walter has felt the heat as an NHL player and assistant coach. His biggest challenge as president of the Abbotsford Heat is to have Fraser Valley residents warm up to the AHL franchise. (Getty Images via National Hockey League).

ABBOTSFORD — Ryan Walter has a masters degree in leadership and his powers of persuasion have been effective on the ice, behind the bench, in the broadcast booth and the corporate community. And just when you think the 54-year-old New Westminster native with more than 1,000 games on his NHL playing resume could gear down from the daily grind, the Abbotsford Heat president has geared up for his biggest challenge.

Walter hears the rumours. Francesco Aquilini will purchase the Abbotsford Sports and Entertainment Centre and his Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames will come to an agreement so the ASEC can house an AHL affiliate area fans can more readily identify with. It would ease a big tax burden in the fourth year of a 10-year supply fee agreement that guarantees the Heat a break-even point with an annual budget of $5.7 million. And because average attendance has dropped from 3,897, to 3,807 and 3,545 in the 7,046-seat facility — to overshadow near sellout crowds Friday and Saturday against the Chicago Wolves — it allowed budget shortfalls to grow from a reported $450,000 in 2009-10 to $1.37 million in 2010-11 and a projected $2.83 million last season. The trickle-down effect has hit taxpayers hard.

Which, of course, begs the question: Why did Walter accept this post in August, 2011?

“I have a bit of a learning spirit,” he said Saturday. “I went back to school when I was 45 to do the masters degree. I’ve been a leader all my life and the key for me is I’ve never seen the off-ice side of our game. It’s all about revenue and expenses. I’ve learned we have to be creative because this is not a ticket you put on sale and it sells.”

If anything, there’s a refreshing honestly to Walter. He’s been in the game long enough to know locating an AHL franchise on the Left Coast is a logistical nightmare. Flights must be subsidized and convincing fans that there’s an entertainment bang for their buck. There are 1,500-2,000 season-ticket holders but crowds in the 4,000-5,000 range would make the product more palatable financially for the Fraser Valley Sports and Entertainment group that has AHL approval to operate a team in the region. But it has too happen sooner than later.

“There is a window,” acknowledged Walter. “It’s every year. The less the City of Abbotsford has to endure, the more they can put toward building soccer parks. But I get it. I hear from people and hear the negative and positive sides and that’s not a spin. That’s reality. Let’s be honest, you shouldn’t really have a team here unless there was a supply agreement with the City that guaranteed certain losses. We’re out in the wild west. The way we got a team was the City took the risk to get the deal. I think long term it will pay off.”

That’s because the there was an 83 per cent season-ticket renewal in the summer — up 18 per cent over the previous two offseasons — and one million residents in the Fraser Valley could be lured to ticket prices that have dropped from $45 to $40 at the top end and from $20 to $15 in the family-fun designed end zones. But the Abbotsford population base of 140,000 is the tough target group.

“There are emotional roadblocks for some people to come to this building,” admitted Walter. “There’s the supply agreement and 49 per cent of the population didn’t want this building. But I thank them. They didn’t build it for themselves, they built it for their kids and grandkids.”

But what will those kids actually see in the coming years?

“I have one track and it’s that I’ve got to make it work now,” said Walter. “If something goes differently and there are changes, we’ll deal with them. Our guys hear the rumours and I basically say that’s above my pay grade. If I hear something, I’ll them them know.”

Walter’s son, Ben, is a veteran centre and in the final year of his two-way contract with the Flames. At 28, he still has a passion for the game like his father and marvels what dad is doing to make the pro game work in Abbotsford.

“I definitely admire it,” he said. “He’s worked really hard and he’s such a big name around here. I don’t see why it can’t work here. It’s a matter of coming to one of these games this weekend and then coming back.”

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